Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.
—Mark 7:28

The woman was
desperate. Her daughter “had a demon”; that is, her daughter was chronically and
seriously ill, perhaps even terminal. She heard about Jesus' powers and sought
him out, begging him to cure her child.

Only one problem: she was
a “Gentile.” A Gentile was one who was not part of the only faith that Jesus
recognized: Judaism. She was not Jewish and the Jews were the only ones who
worshipped the One God. Jesus, of course, was Jewish and understood all others
to be “pagans”; they did not believe in the “One God,” the monotheistic God of
Abraham.

So the woman was sure she
stood little chance of help from Jesus. His response to her entreaty was, “Let
the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and
throw it to the dogs.” By this he meant that the “children of Abraham” should be
favored and fed with all the gifts of God; all others could wait.

The woman's reply to that
was, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” In these
words, she both showed her humility and acknowledged her recognition of the
children of Abraham. Jesus was moved and impressed. He said, “For saying that,
you may go—the demon has left your daughter.”

In this
story, Jesus once again
goes against the cultural and religious “political correctness” of his
times and proclaims the absolute inclusivity of God's love. To His Father, our
God, nobody is an outsider. God's love takes in all of us.

We, you and I, can be
assured of our membership in the family of God—no matter what. We are His
creation and we are His forever. Praise the Lord!